An American Crime2007

🏆 Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. 3 nominations total

Horror Vault's take

Based on one of the most disturbing true crime cases in American history, this film immerses viewers in the nightmare endured by a teenage girl at the hands of a seemingly ordinary woman in 1960s Indiana. Catherine Keener delivers a chilling portrayal of domestic authority twisted into something monstrous, while Elliot Page brings devastating vulnerability to the film's heart. It is less a conventional horror film than a slow, suffocating descent into real-world evil — the kind that hides behind closed doors and neighborhood familiarity. Unrelenting in its honesty, it forces the audience to confront how ordinary circumstances can enable extraordinary cruelty.

Content: Child Abuse, Depictions Of Torture, Prolonged Suffering And Captivity, Sexual Violence References, Disturbing Treatment Of A Minor